Keith Oliver's life changed forever when he was told he had early onset Alzheimer's at only 55 years old. But determined to take on the disease with a positive attitude, the Canterbury-based former headteacher has found comfort in raising public awareness and dispelling some of the myths around this condition. Here, he shares his experiences and the surprising silver linings he's noticed since being diagnosed on New Year's Eve 2010.

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"The neurologist said, 'Well the good news is, it's not a brain tumour. But I'm afraid, the not very good news is that I think you're looking at the early stages of Alzheimer's'. It was a massive shock because I just didn't anticipate that verdict. I was a primary school headteacher and only 55 years old.

"I had been to see my GP because I was experiencing falls, my balance was up the creak, and I was struggling to concentrate at work. I'd also had a series of infections, including a nasty sinus one which had resulted in an operation. The GP gave me antibiotics, but they didn't do any good, so he sent me for a brain scan. When I went to see the neurologist for the results, I thought I was going to find out whether or not I had an infection but instead got the shocking diagnosis, albeit then unconfirmed. After a series of very detailed assessments over a period of a few months, I received the confirmed diagnosis of Alzheimer's on New Year's Eve 2010.

"After my first meeting with the neurologist, my wife, Rosemary, and I went for a walk along the beach. I remember saying to her, 'When one door closes, another will open'. And afterwards, I confided in three or four senior staff at school and they were blown away. They, like me, had never met anybody who was 55 be told they had Alzheimer's. It was a complete shock to everybody. But I carried on working and tried to be there as long as I possibly could. We played it like that for about three months, but then I had some more falls, one of them at school. And I thought: 'This is no good, I'm going to have to take a break from this'. I was signed off for two months but I never went back again.

"Since then, I've learnt an enormous amount about Alzheimer's and dementia, but I've also learnt an enormous amount about myself. And I've realised that Alzheimer's is not a continuous downward trajectory. Much as it's a wretched disease and I do wish I hadn't got it, and it presents me with enormous challenges some days, it's not all bad.

"My mother had Alzheimer's, but she developed it at the more usual age of over 75. So I'd seen the disease from her perspective and from the care home where she lived. I was fearful of presenting in the same way she had in her later days. But I do an enormous amount to try and offset that. Sometimes more successfully than other days, but I'm certainly functioning reasonably well.

"I try and pace myself. The best days are those when I'm busy but don't feel overtaxed. One thing I've noticed is I've become much more sensitive, rather than cognitively-driven, since the diagnosis. As a headteacher, I had to do a professional job and keep the emotional side under wraps as much as possible unless it was helpful for engaging with that person. But now, I can't do that. Sometimes I don't remember what people tell me, but I remember how people make me feel and that's very different from what I was like before. There is a silver lining to it, because if the support and the positivity when you see people is there, then life is reasonable good.

"And, by involving myself in talks and advocacy work on dementia, I've found my comfort zone. For the events I attend and speak at, sometimes the hardest thing is deciding which shirt to wear.

"My advice for people in my situation is to just take each day as it comes. Live in the moment, but plan something in the near future which is going to be enjoyable and is going to be achieved. And confide in people close to you and don't try and keep your feelings and anxieties to yourself. Don't rule out new challenges. There's loads of things I've done since being diagnosed, that I would probably never have done before. I've even taught myself to swim recently."

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